When Jay Cutler left Sunday’s game against the Washington Redskins with a groin injury courtesy of defensive lineman Chris Baker, many Chicago Bears‘ fans were left rightfully holding their breath. Even though the Bears are on bye in Week 8, that still does not lessen the potential impact the injury could have on the team.

If you know anything about groin injuries, you know that they tend to linger for multiple weeks and can easily get worse if played on. For this reason, the Bears may elect to sit him for multiple weeks, waiting for him to get as close to 100 percent before trotting him back out on the field.

That is understandably very tough for Bears’ fans to hear as Cutler was finally starting to capitalize offensively under the right scheme. Marc Trestman was utilizing his talents the right way and the results were showing up on the football field.

Cutler had completed nearly 66 percent of his passes with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions prior to his injury while carrying the ball for 92 yards on 18 rushes as well.

To replace him, the Bears brought in Josh McCown, who is clearly not to be trusted leading the offense long term given his age (34) and lack of consistency at the NFL level. With that said, the Bears must now lean on RB Matt Forte if they want to win in Cutler’s absence.

In crucial parts of the game, Forte showed that he can carry the Bears’ offense on his back, rushing for 91 yards and a whopping three touchdowns on 18 carries this week alone. He added two receptions for 18 yards to his monster game as well.

This huge day was no fluke for the talented back either. He has had over 100 scrimmage yards in five games this year, including the past two weeks in a row.

It is clear that he is a rare workhorse running back that can change the way a defense gameplans for the Bears. The team should play it safe with Cutler and ride both their defense and Forte to victory at least for the next few weeks following their bye.